New Delhi: The counting of votes for the 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh (UP) assembly elections 2017 saw a historic landslide verdict in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in 403-member UP Assembly. The BJP’s seat tally stood at 312 seats, while its allies Apna Dal (Soneylal) won 9 seats and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party four. Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) won 47seatswhile allies Congress got seven. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won 19 seats.

The assembly polls are being seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and his reforms, particularly demonetisation.

The Election Commission (EC) had set up 78 counting centres in 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh and issued strict guidelines on security arrangements for counting of votes and has prohibited mobile phones inside the counting halls. A three-tier security perimeter has been created at the counting centres. The election results are available on the Election Commission website www.eci.nic.in/.

Here are the latest updates on election results and trends from counting of votes in the UP assembly elections 2017:

Sunday, 12 March

10.19 pm: BJP’s parliamentary board has authorized party president Amit Shah to decide the chief ministerial nominee in the four states in consultation with party observers of respective states. Read more

9.09 pm: India is transforming, powered by the strength of each and every citizen of India, Modi said in speech Sunday evening. The theme of development ran through his felicitation speech too. “Beyond the emotive issues, political parties fought shy of going to elections on the issue of development. Development is a difficult subject. In these elections, there was a lack of emotive issues, but the huge voter turnout after the campaign based on development shows the transition that his happening towards creation of a new India,” he said.

The BJP-led government will take everybody along as “in democracy governments are formed with a majority but run with consensus”. Noting that the government has no right to discriminate against anybody, Modi said, “This government is of those who have voted for it and also those who have not. Of those who have walked along, and also of those who have not.”

“Everybody will join in the making of a new India,” he added.

8.39 pm: Amit Shah says the BJP “will get a bigger mandate” in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Terming the massive win in Uttar Pradesh as approval of the BJP-led NDA’s pro-poor policies, Shah said the party’s victory march will continue in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat—the states that go to polls later this year. Read more

7.32 pm: In democracy, a government is formed on majority but it functions on consensus. our government is for those who were with us and those who were against us:” Modi (PTI)

7.27 pm: “The BJP government is for those who voted for it and those who did not; the government is of everyone”: Modi (PTI)

7.23 pm: “We as human beings may commit mistake but we will never do anything with mala fide intentions”: Modi (PTI)

7.19 pm: “I want to assure the people of these five states that we will fulfil the promises”: Modi (PTI)

7.16 pm: “This is a golden period for BJP and we have reached here with sheer hard work”: Narendra Modi. (PTI)

7.15 pm: Burden on the middle class should be reduced so that they can shine, says Modi. (PTI)

7.11 pm: “With every election, support for BJP is increasing across the country and the party’s victory march is moving ahead”: PM Narendra Modi

6.59 pm: “We should be humble after the massive victory, and use this as a platform to serve the people”: PM Narendra Modi

6.55 pm: “BJP massive election victory has forced political pundits to introspect,” says Modi. “Increase in voting a good sign... I see a new India emerging. Results of these five states is the foundation for a new India.” (India Today)

6.52 pm: Narendra Modi starts speaking at the BJP headquarters.

6.50 pm: “Results in five states will takes the BJP forward from its historic win in 2014 general elections,” says Amit Shah. (PTI)

6.43 pm: Amit Shah addressing the party workers at the headquarters, says PM Narendra Modi is the reason for BJP’s election victory in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. (India Today)

4.47 pm: Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav meet party workers and leaders and asked them to reach out to the people and strengthen the outfit. During the meet, Akhilesh told party workers that Samajwadi Party was not only a party, but an ideology, and that “our struggle will continue.” Read more

■ 9.40pm: The BJP, along with ally Apna Dal (Soney Lal), bagged nine out of the 12 assembly seats in the Allahabad district, decimating the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance, which won on one seat, while the BSP’s tally fell from three to two.

■ 8.40 pm: BJP leader Shrikant Sharma said he is not in the race for Uttar Pradesh chief ministership but will “not run away” if the party entrusts him with any responsibility. (PTI)

■ 8.20 pm: Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law, Aparna Yadav, was among the losers as the saffron tide swept across Uttar Pradesh. Aparna Yadav was defeated by Rita Bahuguna Joshi of the BJP by a margin of 33,796 votes in Lucknow Cantt. (PTI)

■ 7.10 pm: Responding to the allegations raised by BSP chief Mayawati, the Election Commission on Saturday rejected her claims saying that the arguments made were “not legally tenable.” The EC in a communication sent to Satish Chandra Mishra, national general secretary of the BSP, reasoned out that EVMs are being used since 2000 in every election and that it has “full confidence” in it.

■ 5.15pm: Thank you. Long live democracy, says PM Narendra Modi in response to Rahul Gandhi’s tweet congratulating BJP on victories in UP and Uttarakhand.

■ 5.15pm: Outgoing UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav speaks on assembly election results. “I hope the next government will work better than SP government,” he said. “I accept the verdict of the people, I will do analysis at booth level.”

“BJP misled voters. If questions have been raised on EVMs, the government should probe it, says Akhilesh on Mayawati’s allegation of tampering. “Alliance with Congress to continue; We have been benefited by alliance with Congress, says Akhilesh. (PTI)

■ 4.36pm: The BJP has won 216 seats and is leading in another 93, while the Samajwadi Party has won or is leading in 49.

■ 4.20pm: PM Narendra Modi: I am overjoyed that BJP has received unprecedented support from all sections of society. Huge support from the youth is gladdening. I thank people of UP from bottom of my heart. This historic victory of BJP is for development and good governance.(PTI)

■ 4.10pm: This is very humbling and overwhelming, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi on poll victory. Gratitude to the people of India for the continued faith, support and affection for the BJP. (PTI)

Gratitude to the people of India for the continued faith, support and affection for the BJP. This is very humbling & overwhelming.

■ 2.45pm: The Uttar Pradesh election results not only underline Rahul Gandhi’s failure, but also that of Priyanka Gandhi who was part of the poll strategy, Union minister Smriti Irani said.

The Union Textile Minister said that she would like to ask the Congress vice president in “Akhilesh style” that “khao ganga maa ki kasam aur batao UP ko kiska saath pasand hai” (Swear in the name of mother Ganga and say whom does Uttar Pradesh like).

“In our party merit wins over dynasty. This is one political organisation which has made a humble citizen as the prime minister of the country. This victory is the victory of the Modi government and its policies,” Irani added.

■ 1.50pm: UP results surprising, seems EVMs did not accept any vote other than that of BJP’s, says BSP supremo Mayawati.

Press any button, vote goes to BJP, charges Mayawati after trends show her party finishing a poor third.

Mayawati dares PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah to ask EC to hold polls in UP using traditional ballot papers if they are “honest”. (PTI)

■ 1.45pm: According to trends and results available after five hours of counting of votes in the Assembly polls in the five states, the BJP, which did not have a chief ministerial face in UP, was ahead in 296 out of 403 constituencies in a stunning showing which party leaders credited to a ‘Modi wave’. The BJP together with its allies Apna Dal (Soneylal Patel) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) were leading in 305 seats.

The BJP, which had just 47 seats in the outgoing Assembly, garnered 40% vote share, in the most riveting contest seen as a gamechanger and a virtual referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and demonetisation. The party also went to the elections without fielding any Muslim candidate.

The nascent SP-Congress coalition was ahead in 64 seats while Mayawati’s BSP was a distant third leading only in 20 places. The SP, whose campaign was spearheaded by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on development agenda, led in 55 seats.

■ 1.40pm: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis says historic UP win is a crushing reply to those who opposed demonetisation.

Dear BJP, Congratulations for your outstanding first-past-the-post arithmetic.You may win elections, but you can never win hearts.

“Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is God’s blessing for the country and people have tremendous faith in his welfare schemes,” Chouhan said in a series of tweets this morning after early trends suggested that BJP was on its way to form the government in UP after a hiatus of 15 years.

The BJP and its allies have marched ahead in 305 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh as per latest trends from all the 403 seats. (PTI)

■ 1.20pm: Trends show SP’s Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam leading in Rampur and Suar seats. (PTI)

■ 1.15pm: With the Congress staring at a drubbing in Uttar Pradesh, the grand old party on Friday admitted that “the bad loss hurts” and said it needs to do “fundamental restructuring” in the state, calling for hard decisions.

“Yes, UP is a bad loss, it hurts...I agree that, in UP, we need fundamental restructuring thinking for the Congress as a whole. These have to be hard, tough decisions about strategy,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

“We are forming government in Punjab...In Goa, the BJP is not in position to form government. There is a possibility that we may form government there,” the former Union Minister said. (PTI)

■ 1pm: The BJP and its allies appear poised to sweep all the five assembly segments which together form Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency as well as the three adjoining ones falling in the district.

As per trends available till noon, the BJP is leading by a comfortable margin in all the three urban seats it had won in 2012 —Varanasi Cantt, Varanasi South and Varanasi North. Modi had camped in his constituency for three days, held roadshows and addressed several rallies to reach out to voters in the district.

The BJP’s allies Apna Dal (Soney Lal) and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party too have respectively established handsome leads in Sevapuri, which falls under Varanasi, and Ajagara, which comes under Chandauli. (PTI)

SP leader Shivpal Yadav was leading by over 11,000 votes in Jaswant Nagar (Etawah) over his nearest rival Manish Yadav Batre of BJP.

Minister Azam Khan was leading in Rampur. Trends show BJP’s Suresh Rana was trailing in Thana Bhawan seat in Shamli.

Sangeet Som (BJP) was leading in Sardhana in Meerut. Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari (BSP) was leading by a narrow margin in Mau, while his son Abbas and brother Sigbatullah were trailing in Ghosi and Mohammadabad seats respectively.

Once again 'complete majority' for parties...whichever and whoever they may be. That's the real 'Mera Desh Badal Raha Hai' Well done, voters

Gayatri Prajapati, who is absconding after the UP Police booked him in an alleged gangrape case and attempt to rape a minor, was trailing in Amethi, where Garima Singh (BJP), the first wife of Congress leader Sanjay Sinh, was leading. Ameeta Singh (Cong), the present wife of Sanjay Sinh was also trailing.

In Noida, Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj Singh was leading.(PTI)

■ 11.15am: BJP leaders on Friday credited ‘Modi wave’ for the party’s strong showing in the high stakes Uttar Pradesh elections. On the next chief minister in the state, they said the decision will be taken by the BJP parliamentary board and the legislature party in the state soon.

The results of the elections, which were fought under party chief Amit Shah, show that the BJP has been able to dispel the perception of being a party of upper castes only as now it commands the support of all sections of the society, including Dalits, they said.

“It is a Modi wave. The wave which started with 2014 Lok Sabha elections is continuing in 2017 and the momentum will go beyond the 2019 general elections,” BJP Uttar Pradesh chief Keshav Prasad Maurya said.

“The credit goes to Prime Minister Modi, his government’s pro-poor policies and party chief Amit Shah’s strategy. People have fought the elections on our behalf in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and results have vindicated their faith in us,” party general secretary Kailash Vijaywargia said.

Another BJP general secretary O P Mathur, who is in- charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh, said the state has become “Modi-fied” and so has the country. (PTI)

■ 9.20am: Election trends on CNN-News18 for 300 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh shows BJP is leading in 204 seats, while SP-Congress alliance is leading in 53 seats, BSP is leading in 31 seats.

■ 9.00am: Election trends on CNN-News18 for 178 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh shows BJP is leading in 122 seats, while SP-Congress alliance is leading in 28 seats, BSP is leading in 21 seats.

A look at major contestants: SP’s Azam Khan leading in Rampur. SP’s Gayatri Prajapati leading in Amethi. Aparna Yadav, the wife of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Prateek is trailing in Lucknow Cantt.

■ 8.45am: Election trends posted by CNN-News18 for 88 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh suggests BJP is leading in 57 seats, while SP-Congress alliance is leading in 15 seats, BSP is leading in 12 seats.

■ 8.30am: Initial election trends posted by CNN-News18 for 43 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh suggests BJP is leading in 24 seats, while SP-Congress alliance is leading in 11 seats, BSP is leading in 5 seats.

■ 8.00am: The counting of votes began at 8am for the 403 Assembly seats in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh that went to polls in seven phases. Postal ballots were being counted first and initial trends are expected to be in by 9am.

A total of 78 counting centres have been set up in the state. In three districts of Amethi, Azamgarh and Kushinagar two counting centres each have been set up and in the remaining 72 district, counting will be held at one place.